


The Bottomless Blue

by KadeMaki



Category: Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Fandom
Genre: Armitage Hux - Freeform, F/M, General Hux - Freeform, Hux - Freeform, Hux x Reader - Freeform, Hux-centric, Mermaids, Merpeople, Star Wars - Freeform, Star Wars AU, armitage, hux is a mermaid, mermaid, merman, merman! hux
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-08-09 00:10:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16439438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KadeMaki/pseuds/KadeMaki
Summary: You were just an aquarium employee who loved the ocean.  What happens when you're exploring a shipwreck and run into a legendary creature?  What happens when that same creature ends up as an exhibit at the aquarium you work at?  Will you help set him free or leave him to be used as a new exhibit at the aquarium?Based off of multiple AU's that I am combining to make a full story.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Dark Waters AU  
> Character A (Reader) is a diver, and while exploring a sunken shipwreck, they round a corner and come face-to-face with merperson!Character B(Hux) . Character A is startled, but Character B grins, showing off their impressively sharp teeth. 
> 
> http://auideas.tumblr.com/post/166524787002/dark-waters-au

Dark.

Blue. 

Vast.

All the ways you could describe the ocean. You felt the spray of seawater on your face as you looked out at it. It had always interested you since you were a child. You’d spent as much time as possible by the sea when you were a child at your grandparent’s house. After they passed away, you inherited their house and spent all your time there when you could get away from work. You worked a desk job at an exotic aquarium in the city and even though you were surrounded by all kinds of sea creatures, there was nothing like seeing the creatures in their natural habitat. 

To get closer to life under the sea, you had taken up diving. Deep sea diving was your favorite way to pass the time. You had taken to exploring shipwrecks off the coast, usually, these wrecks had been untouched by others for so long that it was almost like getting a snapshot of history before the ships sunk. Today your plan was to search a particularly old vessel, it was from the 1800s and hadn’t been touched by archaeologists in twenty-five years. You were excited to get down there to see the huge vessel, you’d planned your trip for the last few weeks. In the early morning, you’d planned to take your small boat out to the vessel, fish for a while then dive for a few hours after the sun had risen. 

You had set up your fishing rods and waited for fish to bite but all morning you’d been unsuccessful. You had not been able to catch a single fish. Every time you had one on the line, it somehow broke free. The fish would fight for a minute or two before the line would suddenly go slack. You swore you could always see a flash of red before the fish disappeared. You thought maybe your line was getting snagged on something that made it easy for the fish to free themselves. Oh well, you had food at home and at least you got to watch the sunrise on the water. 

You pulled on your wetsuit and the rest of your scuba gear before standing on the edge of your boat. You hadn’t been to this wreck before and couldn't wait to get down there to see what treasures you could unearth. You turned your back to the water and plunged in backward. The shock of the water’s temperature disoriented you for a few seconds before you found your way and let yourself sink down. You turned on your chest-mounted video camera and started to swim deeper down toward the wreck. As the shipwreck came into view, you were in awe of its size. This ship was astounding. Even though it was partially destroyed before it sunk to the bottom of the sea, the salt water had preserved what was left and what was left amazed you. The masts and the deck still stood in its state of decay, well floated, as if they ship was still afloat. You swam up the starboard side of the ship and looked over the ship. You could still picture it floating the harbor a few miles up the coast. It would stand tall against the small speedboats that now occupied the harbor. 

You glanced around swam up towards the crow’s nest. You swam next to it to pretend to get a bird’s eye view of the ship. From up here, you could see everything except for the holes in the ship from cannonballs that caused its demise. That’s what you wanted to see, how the ocean had regrown around the ship. Unclipping your flashlight from your utility belt, you swam towards the port side of the ship heading for the outside to get a look at the cannonball entry holes. 

As you got closer, you noticed that there we no fish around. That was strange considering that fish usually stayed close to wrecks like this for the shelter they provided. It would explain why you had trouble catching any fish earlier. For some reason, the fish were absent from this place and probably were even more skittish closer to the surface so they fought hard to get off your hook. 

You found yourself staring at a giant hole in the side of the ship, the cannonball that had made this hole had to have been massive, you could almost crawl through it. The hole left by the cannonball led into the dark interior of the ship. This is what you came for, to see the storage rooms and gun decks of the ship. It would be cool to see the cannons and cannonballs left behind when the ship was abandoned. Maybe the sailors left behind objects that were now encrusted in salt that would be interesting to see. You wouldn’t dream of taking anything because you believed in leaving the wreck as it was, but you never got tired of seeing historical artifacts in this ocean environment. 

You neared the hole and shone your flashlight inside of it, the beams got weaker the deeper into the ship they went but you could make out a few fish among some barrels and crates. Switching on your chest-mounted video camera’s flash, you swam into the hole. You made sure to get a good shot of the rotting boards around the hole as you entered, documenting the ships state of decay. You looked around the belly of the ship at the rotting barrels and crates and wondered what treasures were inside. As you pushed open a crate full of wine bottles, you felt the hair on the back of your neck stand up. You could swear you felt someone was watching you but you brushed it off to being this deep and in a dark room in an abandoned ship. 

You swam through the rest of cargo hold looking through crates and barrels and getting footage of the contents of the ship. You chuckled at a crate full of fish bones and wondered why the long deceased crew had stored the bones of the fish in crates rather than throwing the bones overboard. You swam past the captain’s quarters and got the feeling of being watched again. You glanced around and after seeing nothing, you ventured inside. The first thing you noticed was another large cannonball hole in the hull leading back to the open depths. You got a shot of the inside of the cannonball entry point then started to take in the room. The remains of the bed floated near the top of the room as it was being slowly consumed by shipworms. That’s when you noticed another crate full of fish bones. How many had the crew left behind and how had the bones stayed in these crates without moving for so long? 

You moved over to take pictures of the desk in the corner of the room. On it were stacked piles of trinkets. Small gemstones and trinkets mostly but also a few other small things. You opened a small box and its contents surprised you. The small box was stuffed with small seemingly random objects. A shot glass, a bracelet made with gemstones and a pair of sunglasses. You felt something off about the box but a movement in the corner of your eye caught your attention. You looked up but saw nothing in the room. 

That’s when it hit you. The sunglasses in the box, Ray-Bans, weren’t made until the 1930s, how were these sunglasses in the box? You felt your body tense as you spotted the crate of fish bones in your peripheral vision. When you thought about it, the fish bones couldn’t have been from the 1800s, they would have decomposed by now. How were there fresh fish bones in the belly of the ship? It didn’t make sense, was someone making regular dives down here to put fishbones and a pair of sunglasses? Or was it a practical joke by some divers that you happened to stumble upon? You were thoroughly creeped out at this point and wanted to get out of the wreck and get to the surface to calm your nerves. You turned around towards the door and what you saw made your heart stop.

Standing, well swimming in the doorway was a man, if you could call him a man. He had a shock of bright red hair, pale blue-green eyes and an angular face with pale skin. But what was scaring you the most was the dark green tail that started at the end of his pale torso. The scales sparkled in the beams of your flashlight with each pass through the still water. 

You were frozen in fear as your adrenaline began to surge as the man appeared to be sizing you up from across the room. You couldn’t take your eyes off of him even though your mind was screaming at you to leave. You watched as the man tilted his head and looked you over again before smiling. His smile was what turned on your body’s fight or flight response. When he parted his lips to smile, you were greeted with the sight of rows of sharp pointed teeth. That was enough for you to toss the small box in your hand in his direction before diving towards the cannonball hole in the hull. You didn’t look back as you switched the controls on your buoyancy compensator jacket, using it to propel you to the surface as fast as possible. You weren't worried about decompression sickness at this point, you just wanted out of here. 

As soon as you felt your jacket pulling you to the surface, you risked a glance below you back to the shipwreck. You felt your adrenaline spike again as you saw the man, leaning out of the cannonball hole up towards you. With that sight, you began to kick your feet to speed your ascent. When you got to the surface, you ignored the pressure and ringing in your ears in favor of ripping your mask off and swimming towards your boat. You heaved yourself over the ladder and pulled it up before collapsing behind the steering wheel. As you caught your breath you started the engine and reeled in the anchor. As you pulled away from the shipwreck and put some distance between it and yourself, you glanced back, still in shock about what you had seen. You were terrified to see a head with a shock of bright red hair floating just above the surface before it dipped below and a green tail splashed in its wake. 

As soon as you got home, you promised yourself that you were not getting in open water anytime in the foreseeable future. But what had you seen? Was it a man in a costume? That would explain the tail and teeth or was it something else?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is based off the following au 
> 
> “Okay, not to sounds creepy, but I’ve been coming to this fishing spot to watch you fish, and I may have had a hand in you catching so many big fish lately…it’s like the merperson equivalent of a bouquet of flowers.” AU 
> 
> http://auideas.tumblr.com/post/144681193287/maybe-some-mermaid-falls-in-love-with-human-on

It had been a month and a half since you had seen the creature in the shipwreck. You hadn’t been brave enough to go back towards the ship since then. You were just getting comfortable to go back into the open water. You had spent the past few weeks in the shallows enjoying the small fish and starfish that washed in with the tide into the small lagoon near your grandparent's house. 

You had enjoyed fishing in the small lagoon. You had set traps in the lagoon and fished while standing in the inlet hidden between some large rocks and boulders on the beach. Sometimes just being on the beach was enough to relax you. You collected small shells and worked on your tan most of your days off. 

You were spending today a little differently though. Today you were watching your neighbor’s daughter, Lily. Her parents had named her after one of Monet’s famous paintings. She was eight and loved the water just as much as you did at her age. You were teaching her how to set traps and fish the way your grandparents had taught you. You had already set up the traps in the lagoon together and were now showing her to set up her fishing rod. You hoped that the fish today would be attracted the bait you bought. You didn’t want Lily to be disappointed if you couldn’t catch any fish.

“Okay Lily now all we have to do is pull in the reel and you can cast off,” you said handing her the rod after attaching the bait to the hook. You stepped back to clear yourself from the range of her cast. You didn’t want to catch a fish hook in your skin and then get salt water in the cuts and scratches it would leave behind. 

“Like this?” Lily asked as she swung her arms back and over her head, watching as the line flew out 20 feet into the water. “Was that good Miss Y/N?” She said turning back to look at you with a grin.

“It was amazing! You did excellent! Now, just slide put it on the holder right there just like I showed you and you’re all set. You can show me your sand castle building skills while we wait.” You watched as she slid the rod into the pole you had put in the sand to hold the rod steady while the two of you lay out on the beach. 

You cast out your own rod and secured it in your own holder. You tied small bells to your rods so that you could hear if the lines were jerked before moving to smooth out your beach towel. You laid down on the towel as Lily picked up the bucket full of castle molds and started to head towards the water. She had assured you that she was pro at making castles and promised to make you a castle so you could both be princesses in them. 

You watched for a little as she filled the buckets and molds with wet sand and started making the base of her castle. She was making the castle at least four feet by four feet, this was going to take a while. In lieu, of watching her build this enormous castle, you decided to lie down and relax while working on your tan. You slid your sunglasses over your eyes and relaxed with the sound of the waves crashing in your ears.

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A small jingling followed by Lily’s screams of excitement jolted you awake from a short nap. You squinted from behind your sunglasses and saw Lily pulling her fishing rod out of the pole.

“Miss Y/N! I GOT A FISH! I GOT A FISH!” You got to your feet as Lily started jumping around and pulling the rod in. 

“It looks like a big one! Remember what I said, first we have to wake it slow or it could snap your rod or fishing line.” You smiled as you ruffled her hair, watching Lily tilt the rod down as she reeled the line in. “Okay Lily, let’s bring the rod back up and take a step back so you don’t hurt yourself reeling this fish in.” Lily nodded about brought the rod up while taking a few steps back. If she reeled it in too much and there was enough tension in the line, either the rod or line would snap, meaning disappointment for both of you. 

Lily kept reeling in her line, alternating between pulling the rod up and down while taking a few steps back. After a few minutes, you started to wonder how long this could take considering the bait and hook you had used were meant for small to medium sized fish. You were also fishing in the shallows, there shouldn't be many big fish and if there were, they should have destroyed Lily’s rod and line by now. There was no way a child of her size would have been able to reel in a fish of substantial size unless the fish was tired of fighting already. A violent splashing sound broke you from your thoughts and you looked up to see a yellowfin tuna that was at least thirty-five pounds writhing wildly in the shallows. You stared dumbfounded, a yellowfin tuna much less one of that size was rare for your location and even more rare to be caught from shore. 

“Miss Y/N! Miss Y/N! IT’S HUGE!” Lily screamed to you while starting to struggle with the weight of the fish on the line. She took a few steps back before pushing the rod into your hands. “Here Miss Y/N, I can’t do it anymore, it’s hurting my hands now, can you help me?” 

“Sure Lily, I don't think I’ve ever caught a fish this big from shore before. This is actually kind of weird…” You grabbed the rod from Lily and began reeling the tuna in. As you pulled it in close to shore, you could swear you saw a flash of red in the distance before it disappeared against the waves. “Lily, can you get the net? I’m not sure what we’re going to do this with this big guy but maybe the net will hold him.” 

Lily picked up the net, “Miss Y/N I don’t think it will fit in here.” She held up the net as you continued to reel the fish in. She was right, there was no way you could fit this yellowfin tuna in the net, you didn’t want to kill a fish this big in front of Lily so you were at a loss of what to do. If it was a smaller fish, you could just put it on ice in a cooler and she wouldn’t watch you struggle to deal with it. But a fish this size would definitely cause problems even in a cooler on ice, it could probably knock over the cooler if it wriggled inside of it. Unfortunately, the decision of what to do was taken out of your hands and a wave brought the fish to shore and you had to reel the line in quickly while taking a step back to pull the fish onto the beach as the wave receded. You caught your breath and stared at the fish for a second as Lily ran over to it. It flopped wildly on the sand for a few moments before starting to lose its strength. 

“Miss Y/N? What are all the holes on it?” You furrowed your brow, what holes? You walked over to the fish that flopped around a few more times as you approached before settling down again. Lily was right, there were small indentations in the side of the fish that looked almost like bite marks? But where would this fish have gotten bitten this many times and survived? Not to mention the hook sat in the fish's’ mouth at an old angle. Had the hook been forced into its mouth?

“I don't know Lily. I’ve never seen these marks before. Maybe it got caught and torn up in the shallows on seashells, rocks or coral?” It was unlikely but you had no other explanation for her. 

“Do you think another fish did it? Maybe it was a shark? They have lots of teeth!” Lily’s eyes grew and she started humming the theme to ‘Jaws’. “Well, maybe not a big shark, it would have eaten this fish whole, maybe it was a baby shark! Because it couldn’t even take a big bite out this fish!” She stopped humming the theme to ‘Jaws’ and started singing, “ Baby shark, doo doo doo-”

“Hey Lily, how about you let me deal with this big guy while you reset this fishing rod for me? That way we can see what else we can catch before we go home today? Is that a good trade?” You said smiling enthusiastically, you would give anything to not hear that song today and if resetting the fishing rod would distract her enough to forget about the song, you would ask her to set up a thousand rods. 

“OOOO! Yes! Maybe we can get a shark this time! Mommy shark doo doo doo doo…” Lily skipped off to the fishing rods, still singing that song while trying to tie a new hook the line. You sighed, you would be hearing that song for a while. You looked down and stared at the enormous tuna in front of you. The marks in the skin couldn't be anything but teeth marks, but from what? And why was the hook tangled so much into the fish’s mouth? You prodded the fish and when it didn’t wriggle around you heaved it into your cooler and hoped for the best. Hopefully, it was dead and didn’t revive itself and scare you by jumping out of the cooler later. 

“I reset the line Miss Y/N! Now we wait for the sharks! Can you bring me some water so I can keep making my sandcastle now?” Lily was all too happy to wait for another catch, but you were a little less optimistic since a fish that size was usually a one-time rarity. But you weren’t going to dampen her spirits, so you smiled and helped her carry buckets of water from the shallows back to your spot on the shore. 

You’d only been sitting down and watching her re-wet the sand of the castle she had started when the faint jingling came from the rods again. You turned as Lily jumped up and ran to the lines. 

“We got another one Miss Y/N! Can you reel this one in! It could be a shark!” Your face turned up in confusion, another fish already? Maybe it was Lily’s beginner’s luck. You stood and took the rod from its holder and started work to reel the fish in. Maybe it was a glare from your sunglasses but you were sure you saw a red ball bobbing above the water before disappearing beneath the waves. After a few minutes, you reeled in a nineteen pound Blackfish. You grabbed the net and scooped the fish up before opening the cooler and tossing it in as it flopped around in the net. You noted that the Blackfish had the same tooth marks and weirdly angled hook as the tuna. What was causing these marks? Well at least, you would eat well tonight. “Wow Miss Y/N we’re so lucky today! Let’s see how many we can catch today! Do you think the next one will be a shark? I hope we catch a shark next!” 

“I don’t know if we’ll catch a shark, don’t you think these two are enough for us today? These are pretty big already…” You trailed off trying to figure out how you would cook these fish for yourself and Lily’s parents. You looked down at Lily’s big eyes and sighed. “I guess we can try for a shark, go ahead and set the rods back up.” 

Lily squealed and ran back to the rods. “Thanks, Miss Y/N! I can’t wait to see what we catch next!” You slyly made sure that the bait was taken off the hooks before casting them back out to sea. Maybe Lily would be satisfied without any more fish if she didn't notice the bait was gone. You took a breath before laying back down on your beach blanket and trying to relax. 

The tension had just left your body when light jingling pulled you back. Here we go again. 

 

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“Wow, Miss Y/N, we had a good day today huh? We don’t have to fish for a while. We got so many fishes today!” Lily said as she skipped past you on the sidewalk. 

“Yeah Lily, I have no idea how we’re going to cook and eat all of these.” You huffed as you dragged the now packed cooler behind you. It was heavier now than when you first brought it to the beach. Somehow, you and Lily had gone on to catch three more fish for a total of five. And they were all gigantic and weighed a ton when you were the only one pulling the cooler. All of the fish you had caught had the strange bite marks and hooks that seemed to have been forced into their mouths. 

Along with the strange amount of large fish you caught, you could have sworn you had seen the red hair of the creature from the shipwreck bobbing in the waves. You remembered his sharp pointed teeth and wondered if they could be what was causing the weird teeth marks on the fish. But that didn’t explain how the hooks were forced into the fishes’ mouth as well. If he was in the surf watching you, was he also trying to catch fish but had your line gotten in the way and pulled it away from him? You shuddered, you didn't want to make a sea creature angry by taking away his lunch. 

Maybe he wasn’t trying to catch his own lunch. Maybe he was actually helping Lucy and yourself catch these large fish for your dinner. You mused to yourself about the creature trying to help you catch fish as you dragged the cooler up the ramp to Lily’s parents back deck. Why would it want to help you catch fish? You shook your head at the sound of Lily’s parents calling to you from the house. Maybe you could summon the courage to go back out to the shipwreck and see what you could find?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is based off of these au's
> 
> https://the-modern-typewriter.tumblr.com/post/161861082898/mer-sirens-sea-things

Today was the day. You were going back to the shipwreck to see if the creature you saw was real or not. You had waited a few weeks before coming back out onto the water. Even though you spent your weekends at the cottage, your stressful work week at the aquarium, filing paperwork and reports had tired you out, week after week and you couldn't find the strength to take yourself on the water. Even your co-workers had mentioned that you had not seemed to have been going out on the water to relax as much since on Monday’s you usually came in smelling like saltwater the beach. Instead of going out on the water, you spent the last weekends with Lily fishing at the beach and in the lagoon. You were still catching abnormally large fish from shore but you couldn’t figure out why. Maybe it was the good luck of having a beginner with you. You were sure her parents were tired of eating fish for dinner every night with the size and amount of fish the two of you caught. 

You loved spending time with Lily but you wanted this weekend for yourself. You had decided this was the weekend you would return to the shipwreck to look for the creature. You were anxious about what you would find. You recalled that the merman had crates filled with fish in his living area and wondered if bringing some would coax him out the captain’s quarters. But you were unsure of what you would do if you found him. Would you just stare at him and offer him a fish or would your adrenaline kick in and you would run again? 

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You through your backpack full of supplies onto your boat and checked your scuba gear. Once everything was in order, you pulled up your anchor and set off from the docks. As you were steering out to sea, a large fishing vessel pulled alongside you causing large waves to rock your smaller boat back and forth. You rolled your eyes and pulled away from the boat just as a crewman dumped a container full of fish remains over the side of the boat. 

‘Were they really chumming the waters this close to shore or were they just dumping the remains of yesterday’s catch?’ You shook your head and checked the coordinates for the shipwreck. The water was a little rough today so you wanted to make sure dropped your anchor to account for the boat drifting a little with the waves. After you got closer to the shipwreck, you dropped your anchor hoping the waves to help you drift closer to the wreck and started to strap on your scuba gear.

You thought back to how you had reviewed the footage from your video camera. The depth of the dive had caused the video to be blurry and you could only make the form of the man but not any exact details aside from his bright red hair. Today you were going to make sure what you had seen before was real and not a narcosis induced hallucination. 

A distant whine of an engine pulled you from your thoughts and you saw the fishing boat from earlier speeding past in the distance. You shook your head as you strapped on your oxygen tank, and video camera, you didn’t understand why they were all over the sea, possibly scaring off all the fish but to each his own you supposed. You stepped off the edge of your boat into the ocean and let yourself sink a little before orienting yourself and starting to swim towards the wreck.

Not much had changed, there were more fish around but that was it. You swam closer towards the hole in the cargo hold before pausing in front of it. It seemed more ominous now than when you first came. Before your curiosity was just from exploring the empty wreck with a few photos and video to document everything you saw. But now, your curiosity was geared more towards trying to rationally explain what you saw. Did you really see a merman or was it a trick of the light deep underwater. You inhaled inside of your mask and swam inside the cargo hold. The cargo hold was pretty much the same as well except the barrels and crates of fish bones were now empty. Had the merman emptied the crates and barrels? They wouldn't have emptied themselves that's for sure. You took out your camera and took photos of the crates to add the video you were also taking. You glanced towards the captain’s quarters to see the door, unlike last time was now shut. 

The sight of the closed door made you shudder. The water currents were non-existent inside the ship so there was no reason for the door to be closed unless someone had closed it. A chill went down your spine as the implications of something else other than yourself and fish had been down here in the cargo hold and the fish certainly weren’t opening and closing doors. You took a breath and swam over to the door. You took your flashlight off your belt and turned it on and pointed it at the door. You could feel your heart pounding in your chest as you placed your hand on the doorknob. You took another breath and twisted the knob before shining your flashlight into the room. 

It was empty. 

Well almost empty. The crate of fish bones was still there albeit also empty like the ones outside along with the desk and decaying bed. The desk still had the trinkets on it but you noticed the gemstone bracelet and sunglasses were gone. So the merman did exist? Who else would have taken the bracelet and sunglasses unless it was another diver but this particular wreck had been cataloged by the historical society years ago and few people thought it was worth a look anymore. You turned towards the hole in the hull that led back to open water. That was good, at least there was nothing watching you from there, just the fish swimming past. Your brows furrowed, had there been fish here last time? Last time, you had found fish bones that the merman was storing for whatever reason but you remembered not seeing any fish at all. Why were there fish here now? Maybe they had been scared off before by the merman’s presence?

As you pondered this, the roar a ship approaching and passing above you disturbed the silence around you. You were annoyed at how busy this part of the sea was today, considering it was usually deserted as it was not part of the normal fishing routes. You glanced over at the desk again and noticed a crate you hadn’t seen the last time you were here. You swam over and opened it. Inside were a few pieces of rope of which some were tied in three knots. There were also a few jars with various contents you couldn’t decipher. But underneath the pieces of rope and jars was a pile of coins and rings? You stared at the contents of the box in confusion before taking a picture of them. Why was he collecting gold coins and rings? He probably used the rope to keep parts of the ship together but what was he using the gold coins and rings for? Where did he even get them? If he got them from the wreck, then maybe the historical exploration team didn’t do a thorough job when they cataloged the wreck. But it didn’t explain what he was keeping them for.

A large object passing the hole in the side of the ship caught the corner of your eye but by the time you looked, it was gone. Maybe it was the merman? You looked around the captain’s quarters again, there were no signs of the merman inside. You sighed and swam out of the hole in the side of the ship and onto the upper deck. You looked around trying to spot what passed the ship but all you could see were schools of fish. The schools of fish did not cast shadows the way whatever had passed by you had, so it couldn't be the fish.

Since there was no sign of the merman, you decided you might as well head home. Your excursion was a flop, maybe next time you would be lucky and catch sight of him. You jumped as a shadow passed by you again but you were too slow to see what it was before it disappeared. When you turned back around, you were annoyed to see the fishing boat was passing you again and rolled your eyes as you saw red liquid and fish remains enter the water at the surface. They were chumming the water here as well. You shrugged and looked up trying to spot your boat from in between the schools of fish. It was hard to see but you could make out the line of your anchor in the distance and decided to swim up closer to the surface to get your bearings. It was good that you were leaving now instead of later since the chum was fresh. It would take the other fish a few minutes to smell the blood in the water and come to check it out giving you just enough time to make it back to your boat. 

You started your ascent when an object casting a large shadow passed behind you. You spun around again but saw nothing as the ship’s crow’s nest blocked your vision. The shadows were starting to creep you out. It could have just been schools of fish but it made you uneasy that these shadows were solid and the shadows of the fish had gaps where the light shone through. You started swimming to the surface again and a strange feeling made you turn and look behind you. 

A dark shape in the distance coming towards you froze you in your place. It was too solid to be a school of fish but too large to be just one fish. Much too large to be the merman coming towards you. As it started closing the distance between the two of you, you realized what it was.

Shark!

Your brain screamed at you. But you couldn’t get your legs to kick. You were slowly sinking back to the ship’s deck. As the shark got closer your brain began to kick into overdrive. The shark had to be at least thirteen feet long and its bite diameter was three and a half feet across. Your heart was pounding with each second that passed. Finally, you found your legs kicking harder than you’d ever before and were swimming through a school of fish to get to the surface and your boat as quickly as you could. 

You were almost to the surface when you were struck on your left side and felt a stinging pain in your arm. You were being propelled through the water by the pain in your arm and your head started to spin. Your eyes fluttered and you looked down to see your arm in the mouth of the shark. You panicked and tried to pull your arm out of its mouth before it could start to shake its head back and forth and try to rip your arm off. 

You racked your brain trying to remember how to survive a shark attack but all you could think of was Lara Croft punching a shark in Tomb Raider and you weren’t going to put another part of your body near the shark’s mouth. Your adrenaline was spiking and you vaguely recalled how a shark’s eyes had a protective skin to protect it from flapping fish but it was your only option. You reared your hand back and pushed the finger’s in your right hand into the shark’s eye. The shark jerked and let go of your arm immediately before swimming past you.

You were disoriented from being dragged by the shark and tried to orient yourself with which direction was to the surface and which direction your boat was but your mind was moving too fast to process much information. You looked to the surface and realized the shark had dragged you down much further than you had realized and you could not see the anchor line to your boat. You couldn’t even see the shipwreck. The blur of movement in the bottom right of your vision reminded you that there was still a shark down there and it had just taken a bite out of you. You tried to weigh your best option for survival, get to the surface or try to find the shipwreck to find your boat?

A snap decision had you deciding that it would be best to get to the surface and try to spot your boat. You’d do anything to put some distance between yourself and the shark. You kicked your legs and was happy the adrenaline blocked out the pain in your arm as you made a mad dash for the surface. You halfway there when you felt a something grab onto your fin. You gasped as you were once again being pulled deeper into the water. You looked down and saw the shark was back and pulling you under again. You tried to kick it with your other foot but this time it didn't seem fazed. You glanced back towards the surface just to see the light getting dimmer as you got deeper in the water. If you kept letting it drag you deeper, it would be harder to get away. 

You were struggling against the shark’s hold when another object collided with the shark and you were freed again. You spared a glance down to see the merman was what had collided with the shark. The shark had slashes and bite marks in its side and that was all you need to see. Your mind swam with questions but you knew those had to wait, you needed to get back to your boat. You kicked your legs again to try to swim to the surface but you didn’t get very far before noticing that the water above you was filled with sharks. You recognized the Thresher sharks that were usually harmless but the Tiger, Blue and Shortfin Mako sharks were making your nerves worse. Those three were the most dangerous since all were known to attack people and boats without provocation. You took a breath and started swimming to the surface for the third time, what was below you scared you more than what was above you. 

A tiger shark swam too close to your head and you could your stress level rising as you wove your way through the maze of sharks and fish. The chum had attracted so many fish and sharks to the area at the worst possible time for you. You were going to file a complaint against the fishermen if you survived this. 

Just as a Shortfin Mako started to swim towards you, someone grabbed you from behind and pulled you out of its path. You were whirled around and came face to face with the merman. His green eyes were wild as he looked you over before pulling you to his chest and swimming out of the school of fish. How had you not noticed that if you swam a little further out, the water was clear of fish and the sharks? 

Now that you were away from the other fish and sharks, you stared at the merman. He was staring at the bite mark on your arm and the chunk of your diving fin on your foot that was missing. He opened his mouth as if to speak but all you saw were his pointed teeth moving behind his lips. You couldn’t understand him but you stared at him in awe. His pointed teeth were giving you anxiety but the dark green tail that was steadily propelling the two of you through the water at a gentle pace was beautiful. It’s scales almost sparkled in the light and you wanted to reach down and touch it. You reached out with your hand but a shake of your good arm had you looking up at the merman’s face of disapproval. You took in his hair that looked like fire glowing underwater with its bright color. 

After a few minutes of your intense staring at the merman, the shipwreck came into view. You were relieved to see the shipwreck because your boat had to be nearby. You moved to separate yourself from the merman but his grip tightened. Your adrenaline spiked again when he wouldn’t let go of you. You thought the worse, did he only rescue you from the sharks to eat you himself? As far as you could tell, you were the only one who knew he existed and if he made you disappear, no one else would be the wiser to his existence. As these thoughts flitted through your mind, you struggled in his hold trying to break free now with more effort. An exhale of bubbles gave you pause as you realized the merman was taking you to the captain’s quarters of the wreck. 

Once you were inside the captain’s quarters, there would be nowhere for you to run. You wouldn’t be able to out swim him from the shipwreck, you probably wouldn't be able to out swim him now to the distance from your boat. You weighed your options again, try to out swim the merman and possibly injure yourself more and make him angry and eat you? Or let him take you to the captain’s quarters and find a way to get away from him and make it back to your boat in one piece? You decided to let him take you to the captain’s quarters, besides he hadn’t even made a move to hurt you since he rescued you so maybe he had good intentions?

You got the captain’s quarters and the merman finally released you. You stood awkwardly on your broken fin and watched as he went over to the crate by the desk and took out the jars you had seen earlier. You watched as he opened two of them before mixing the pastes inside them together in his hands. He turned to you and you took a step back. He gave what you took to be a sigh before swimming over to you and grabbing your arm. You wriggled in his grip for a moment as he ripped the torn arm of your wet suit off before rubbing the paste onto your bite wound. Your wound stung for a moment before it started to warm up and you stopped wriggling to hold your arm. You looked at your wound and it looked less angry than it had a few minutes ago. 

The merman also inspected your arm before turning and going over to the desk and opening the box of trinkets. He pulled the missing gemstone bracelet and sunglasses from a bag wrapped around his waist that you had failed to notice earlier and put them in the trinket box. He pulled a white cloth out of the crate, a bandage maybe? He crossed the room back to you and began to wrap your arm in the bandage as the two of you stared at each other in silence. You weren’t sure if you were supposed to say anything or if he could understand you if you did try to speak. Instead, you took the time to really take him in. You were in awe of how human he looked. The only thing giving him a less than human appearance was his beautiful tail and sharp teeth.

“Why did you save me?” You asked through your mask. The merman’s mouth moved as if he was speaking but you couldn’t understand the garbled noises that were coming from his mouth. He must have recognized the confused look on your face because he just shook his head. He started to gesture but stopped when a blinking light on your chest caught both of your attention. 

It was your oxygen tank, you were running out of air and quick. You had to get to the surface before you were out of air. You looked down at your broken fin and wounded arm. The merman seemed to understand that you needed to get to the surface as soon as possible. He opened his arms and gestured for you to hold onto him. You hesitated for a moment before realizing he was your best bet to make it to the surface quickly and without injuring yourself further. Besides, what if the sharks had followed the scent of your blood back this far, it wasn’t a risk you wanted to take if you could avoid it. 

You grabbed onto his shoulders and he took off swimming faster than you could have imagined. Your head swam from the speed as you go to the surface in what felt like seconds. Your ears popped from the sudden change in pressure but you were grateful to be out of the depths. You pulled your mask off and took in as much air as possible. You looked around to get your bearings and realized you were by your boat. A warm hand was pushing you to the ladder and helping push you into your boat. 

You sprawled on the floor of your boat trying to regulate your breathing and take off your gear but the awkward position made it difficult. Soon enough you were free of all of your scuba gear except for your wet suit. You heaved yourself back up to look over the edge for the merman but he was gone. A distant rumbling drew your attention and you saw the same fishing boat in the distance dumping more chum in the water. Your anxiety and anger spiked. Why were they chumming the water so much? They had to have caught enough today by now with the amount of fish you had been entangled with, they had to have multiple sites that were full of fish just like that one. 

A louder roar behind you had you turning to see another boat coming towards you. This one was larger than the fishing boat and looked vaguely familiar. As it got closer you recognized the logo of the aquarium you worked at, it was one of their research vessels. You weren’t sure what the aquarium scientists could be researching out here since there was nothing special out here… except for the… merman? You looked around the side of your boat again, but there was no sign of him. The research vessel blew its horn before slowing and stopping near you. You recognized the scientist that came out and greeted you. His name was Luke and he studied more of the deeper dwelling sea creatures. You wondered why they were out here and waved to him. 

“Ahoy Y/N, what are you doing out here?” Luke said, coming down to the vessel’s ladder to take in your exhausted state. “Did you dive too far down? You know you're not supposed to be diving alone even someone with your experience could have an accident...is that a bite?” He jumped from the large vessel to your boat, causing it to rock violently when he landed. He pulled on your injured arm. “Is this a shark bite? Were you bitten by a shark Y/N? We need to get you back to shore! You need to see a doctor!”

You pulled away as he looked closer at your arm, “I’m fine Luke, it looks worse than it is. It doesn’t even hurt now.” Luke considered you for a moment.

“What were you doing out here anyway? Were you looking for the old ship that went down around here?”

‘Yeah, it’s actually a little that way,” you pointed in the direction of the ship. “I came out here a few weeks ago but I wanted to come back to take some pictures.”

“You know they used to say that there was a creature living down there in the ruins. It was a long time ago but I bet people would die if they saw a creature like that these days. Are you sure it was a shark that bit you and not one of those creatures?” he laughed, “I’d love to discover a new species.”

You felt a nagging sense in the back of your mind that you shouldn’t tell him about the merman. You didn’t want anyone to know about your secret just yet. “I wish, there’s nothing down there except the ship and a few rotting crates.” you said trying to keep your face neutral.

He stared at you for a moment and you felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze. It was like he was trying to will you to say something but you didn’t know what. Then he chuckled, “Well Y/N, I should get going. I’ll see you at work this week.” He turned and jumped across the gap to the larger vessel’s ladder. “Make sure you get that arm looked at. With its size, it could get easily get infected.”

You nodded as he climbed the ladder and headed back to the bridge of the vessel. The engine came to life with a roar and the research vessel started to pull away from your boat making large waves jostle your boat. Your body sagged as the boat finally disappeared in the distance, at last, you could breathe for a moment. A loud splash caught your attention and you looked over your shoulder to see the merman, well the merman’s bright red hair covered head floating above the water. 

He glanced at your arm before giving you a disapproving look before turning and swimming back down into the depths, the flash of his bright green tail the last you saw of him. You waited a few moments and when he didn’t return, you sighed and turned to head home. You now knew he was real and meant you no ill will but you wanted to know more about him. Now all you had to do was figure out where to start.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is based on the following AU:
> 
>  
> 
> Character A lives by the sea, and while pulling in their nets/traps one day, they find a bedraggled, angry Character B caught in them. Character B is a merperson that was trying to steal some easy fish from Character A’s traps, but got stuck. 
> 
> http://auideas.tumblr.com/post/165332708825/caught-up-au

“Just pull a little harder, we’ve almost got it now Lily!” 

“Oh my goodness Miss Y/N. It’s so heavy! I don’t think I can!” 

“Nonsense, here we go, Lily, this is the last of it!” You gave one last pull to the ropes spread between Lily and your hands to bring the crab traps that was attached to the ropes onto your boat. Your arm ached a little from your encounter with a shark two weeks prior and even though it was healing better than the doctors had ever seen, it still ached when you did anything too strenuous. 

“Look Miss Y/N! There are so many crabs inside! I’ve never seen so many outside of the store!” This weekend you had taken Lily out crabbing with you on your boat. You’d woken up before the sun rose to drop a few traps. 

“I know, we put our trap out at the right time huh? Watch your feet, I don’t want you to get pinched by their claws.” 

‘I won’t, but can I pick one up? I promise I’ll use the tongs not my hands this time.” Lily said grabbing the tongs from your hands and you nodded. You watched as she picked a crab up and held it in the air as she stared at its underside with wide eyes as it wriggled between the tongs.   
“Miss Y/N, do you think we can make crab cakes later? We have so many, we can make a lot of them!” 

“Of course we can Lily, we can also make a crab soup! I think your parents would love that. But I think my boat is too full now for us to get the rest of the traps right now. Let’s go back and drop these off with your parents and you guys can start with these guys while I come back out for last two traps.” 

“But Miss Y/N I wanted to stay with you all day!” Lily said dropping the crab into the bucket and pouting at you. 

“But Lily, the sooner you start breaking the crabs down the sooner you can start eating them. You do want to eat them soon right?” you said smiling at her, hopefully, she’d take the bait. You could get through the traps quicker if she wasn’t on the boat with you. You knew it would be a long day, collecting the traps then cooking the crabs. You watched as she considered what you had said before nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, okay. We can start cooking these ones and you can bring the rest super quick right? I want to cook them with you.” You smiled at her as you secured the collected traps onto your boat before heading back to steer the boat towards your dock. 

“Don’t worry Lily, I’ll be back before you can miss me.” You started the engine and headed home.

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You stretched, feeling the tension in your spine release as you steer your boat back out to sea. It had taken a little longer than you thought it would to get Lily and the crabs to her parent's house. The young child had wanted to name every crab as you transferred them to buckets. Convincing her to name them when she got them home took a few minutes but she had relented and helped you carry the buckets up the docks to her parent's house. You had laughed to yourself at her parent's dismay when Lily told them her plan to name every crab before they were cooked. You were glad to not have to be present for that. 

As you got further out on open water, you noticed the large fishing vessel that you had found chumming the waters before was also heading out to collect their catches for the day. You frowned as you noticed some of their nets left close to your crab traps. Maybe they were trying to catch more fish by using your traps as bait for the fish they were trying to catch?

You sighed and headed further out to your farthest traps, you would deal with these later. On your way out, you spotted the aquarium’s research vessel in the distance. You stared at it wondering why they were out this far again. The water was deep here but was nowhere near as deep as where they discovered new creatures. Maybe they were looking for other fish to feed the new creatures. You started to reel in your closest trap as the research ship turned and headed your way. You were on your second trap when you felt your boat rocking from the waves the ship was creating. You turned to see Luke once again. 

“Hey Y/N! Fancy seeing you out here again. Whatcha got there?” He called over to you while leaning over the ship’s rail. You waved and gestured to the traps.

“Just pulling in my crab traps. I’m planning to have a crab boil with my neighbors tonight.” 

“Your neighbors aren’t here helping you pull them in? That’s a lot of work for you by yourself.” You gave him a shrug as you sorted through the crabs already in your boat. You wanted to throw back the females to keep the crab population going for next season. 

“Oh no, I had some help earlier but the boat was getting too heavy to carry all of us and the crabs.” The sound of metal pulled your attention away from your task and you looked up to see Luke dropping the ladder to the ship. You tensed as he jumped onto your boat causing it to rock wildly when his weight hit your deck. Luke was a nice guy but you didn’t know each other very well and you were a little uncomfortable having him on your ship with the weight of the crabs and the traps. If your small boat was overloaded with too much weight it could come off balance and tilt and take on water or worse sink. “No, Luke really, it’s fine. I can handle this on my own. I only have a few more and my boat is already on the verge of sinking.” You cringed as you watched him haul the traps up with little help knowing by the way he was reeling the lines in, he would be feeling it in his back for the next few days.

“Nonsense, I’d love to help you Y/N. Of course, I can take a few crabs as payment for my services. How’s your arm? Did you get it checked out? You shouldn’t be pulling these in alone with your arm being injured and all” You rolled your sleeve up and gestured to your slowly healing arm. 

“My arm is fine. It just hurts when it rains you know.” you joked trying to convince Luke you could handle the traps alone. “What are you doing out here? Isn’t this a little shallow for your research anyway?” He started to pull up the next trap, straining with the effort. 

“It is a little shallower than where we usually look but today we’re looking for undiscovered life here before the continental shelf drop off. You never know, maybe we’ll find a new species of crab burrowed down on the ocean floor. Just last week, we found a chest filled with small artifacts. Normal things like combs, mirrors, brushes, and jewelry.” 

“Pirates and ships lost chests all the time, you know better than me that a lot of ships went down out here and a lot of battles were fought just off the coast. The chest could be from anything.” You shrugged and moved to start sorting the crabs in the trap, Luke had just pulled in.

“Of course, but what makes this chest weird is that we found it in an underwater cave.” That made you pause, an underwater cave? 

“Where was the cave? Maybe it used to be above sea level at some point.” 

“That’s impossible since its past the shelf drop off. The depth is so deep that it doesn’t make sense for how the chest got there. Plus, we found it with other chests filled with the same things. It’s kind of creepy. We checked the diving message boards, no one has posted about finding it before us and no one has mentioned keeping a secret stash in a cave. So who put it there?” 

Your mind went to the merman and his chest of gold coins and rings. He collected items in chests in the shipwreck. Could he also be collecting more chests in this mystery cave? You tried not to think about it as you sorted the crabs before tossing the females back into the water.   
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s some diver’s secret stash. Maybe they’re trying to play a prank on someone and you found it.” 

“Well, either way, we don’t think it should go without exploration. Even if it turns out to be a prank, it's worth looking into,” He pulled in the last trap and dumped the crabs onto the deck. “I think this is the last of them Y/N. Hopefully, this makes it easier for you with your arm and all. Well, I should get going, I don’t want to keep the crew waiting too long.” You thanked him and watched as Luke jumped from your boat to the ladder of the research ship. “You know we actually found the cave a little ways from the shipwreck you like. Notice anything strange when you were down there? I mean, aside from the sharks and all.”

Your breath caught you in your throat as your mind raced. Did he suspect anything? 

“No, it’s just a normal shipwreck. The ship is decaying there’s only a few broken crates and barrels. Nothing special to see since the crew that found it took practically everything for their own research.” Luke nodded.

“Well, we’ll probably spend some time down back at the cave today anyway. Maybe there’s another entrance or exit deeper in. I’ll see you around Y/N.” You watched as Luke climbed the ladder and went below deck. 

You thought about what Luke had said, the cave was something to consider. Was it somewhere the merman hid his treasures? Or was it some diver’s practical joke? As you pondered this, you noticed one of the fishing net markers from the fishing ship moving erratically. You watched it as it bobbed violently trying to figure out what could be causing it to move like that. Usually, they didn’t move up and down like that unless there was something caught in it like dolphin or orca. You strained your eyes as you watched and realized you had missed a crab trap. It was close to the fishing net marker. Maybe the net was tangled with your trap deeper down in the water. 

You fired up your boat’s engine and maneuvered closer to your trap and the net. Once you were close enough, you tried to pull your trap in but you were met with resistance. You sighed, your trap was either caught on something or tangled in the net. Peering into the water you couldn’t see much so you pulled on your snorkel and jumped into the water to get a better look. The sight startled you. There was the merman, tangled with your crab trap and the fishing nets. Your eyes followed the line of your trap to his hands where your trap lay. The rope to your trap had become twisted around the net that was entangled with the merman’s tail and left arm. The harder he writhed and contorted to free himself, the tighter the ropes became and the further trapped he became. When he spotted you floating near the surface, his eyes narrowed and he began to thrash harder. 

You turned back and climbed onto your boat. You dug around in your storage compartment behind your life vests before finding your scissors and moving to next compartment for your scuba gear. You checked your scuba tank to see it was half full before pulling it on and heading back into the water. You dove down to the merman’s level and tried to see how bad the tangled line and net was. The merman gave you a pointed look and continued to struggle wrapped in the nets. After a few seconds of watching the nets tangle further around him, you examined the nets and used your scissors to begin cutting the nets. The merman ceased his struggle and watched you closely as you cut around his torso. It was when you moved closer to his tail that pulled back from your hands. You reached for the rope and net tangled around his tail but jerked back when he recoiled from your touch. 

‘If you don’t let me help, you'll be stuck here forever or whenever the fisherman come to pull in the nets.’ is what you wished you could say to the merman. He clearly needed your help to get free but was reluctant to accept your help for whatever reason. You reached to keep cutting the nets near his tail but he pulled away from you again. You gave him a look and started to cut the nets around his torso again, trying to avoid his tail since that seemed to be the more sensitive spot for him. It took you a few minutes to get through the nets tangled around his chest but once you did, you watched as the merman wriggled trying to free himself. Once he realized he wouldn’t be able to get free without you cutting the rest of the nets tangled around his tail, he calmed and let you start cutting the nets around his tail. You glanced up at his face as you finished cutting the net. His shoulders relaxed as he gave a cursory glance at you once he was free. He spun in a circle as he looked over his tail, rubbing at the red marks on his usually deep green fin. 

When he was satisfied with his self-inspection, he gave you a grateful look. You smiled around your oxygen mask. You looked down towards where your crab trap lay on the ocean floor, what had he been doing with it? The trap’s door was askew and the crabs were struggling to free themselves. The merman followed your gaze before reaching down to pick up the trap. You watched curiously as he titled the trap on its side before putting his hand into the trap. 

You were amazed as a large blue crab climbed out of the trap and onto his hand before climbing his arm and settling onto his shoulder. The merman closed the door to the trap before putting it into your hands. You wanted to question him as to why he was so comfortable with this crab, it looked right at home on his shoulder as if it was trained to stay there but your oxygen mask and inability to speak underwater prevented you from doing so. Instead, you found yourself in awe as he nodded to you as he grabbed a few fish from the nets before turning and swimming off in the direction of the shipwreck with the crab still perched on his shoulder. 

As you watched his form fade into the distance, your mind went to Luke. Luke had said they’d be checking out the shipwreck again before they went to the cave later today. What if Luke was there now and the merman was going to stumble upon him and the rest of the exploration team? You checked your watch and it had been about an hour since you had spoken to Luke, it was possible they had gotten to the wreck and left by now. You were sure the merman could take care of himself, he had gone this long without being discovered. 

You swam back to the surface and boarded your boat before pulling the trap in. You emptied the trap and scooped the crabs into the bucket before turning back into the direction of the shipwreck. ‘I should at least check on him to make sure he made it back okay.” you thought to yourself as you started the engine and turned the boat towards the shipwreck. As you neared the shipwreck site, you spotted the research vessel in the distance but nothing else around the shipwreck. You wanted to get out and dive and see if the merman was okay, but you didn’t want to draw Luke and the research team closer to him. So you decided to take off your gear and head back to shore. You hoped he would be able to take care of himself and hide if Luke and the research team went to the shipwreck.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based off of this AU minus the hand gestures
> 
>  
> 
> Character A works as a janitor at an aquarium for the more “exotic” types of sea life. While cleaning up after closing, they meet the newest attraction. Character B, a merperson who communicates through hand gestures.

“And over here, we have what is commonly called the red-bellied eel. It was given that name because of its neon red belly. It was only discovered a few years ago so we don’t know everything about so maybe you kids will discover something new! But this is actually the last exhibit of the tour so after you take a look at this amazing discovery, feel free to wander around for a little bit before we close for the day.” You forced the enthusiasm into your voice as you led another tour through the aquarium. Usually, your job involved sitting at your desk and filing reports on the newly discovered creatures at the aquarium. Occasionally, you were tasked with helping with the observation of the new creatures but more often than not you found yourself looking at them while filing paperwork from your desk. 

The aquarium only housed rare sea creatures. Almost all of the creatures were found using new technology that allowed scientists to get to new depths in the ocean that we previously uncharted. The deepest part of the ocean was home to many creatures that some deemed magical and mysterious because of how different these creatures were compared to ones found in shallower depths. 

Sometimes management asked you to help clean up on days when the aquarium was packed and crowds had left it a mess after a new creature unveiling. Other times like today, they asked you to help give tours to help lessen the burden on the other tour guides. Even though you preferred sitting at your desk and filing reports and information about the creatures, you didn’t mind helping with the tours because you got to see people’s reactions to the newly discovered and rare creatures. Some people reacted with awe and wonder and others were completely shocked by the creature's appearance. 

But secretly, what you loved most was helping clean up at night. It gave you a chance to be alone with the sea creatures and you loved being able to watch them in solitude. It was nice to be able to watch them without people tapping or banging on the glass and without the constant chatter of people. You thought it was peaceful and calming to watch these sea creatures swim past. You often wondered how they were in their natural environment. But in the past few months, that had changed. You loved the ocean but you hadn’t swum in open water for a few weeks after you saw something you couldn't explain in a shipwreck. You were sure you saw a man with a tail in a 1800s shipwreck, he had had sharp pointed teeth almost like a piranha. He had even saved you from getting ripped to pieces by a shark. 

After seeing that, being around these creatures in the aquarium made you a little uncomfortable. Knowing that you were surrounded by strange creatures made you think about how maybe you didn’t know what was in the depths of the ocean. The man you saw actually had a tail but was he really a merman. Sure, merpeople were only legends that no one but children really believed in but how else could you explain him? You had seen him with your own eyes. You’d felt the strength of his tail as he’d carried you back to the shipwreck after the shark attacked you.

You worked in an aquarium that had exotic creatures just like him. Just a few months ago, an expedition crew had found a new species of octopus that was learning to make gestures to indicate what it wanted from its handlers. Common octopi on their own were very intelligent but this new species was on another level. It’s handler’s were amazed at its intelligence level and they discovered new things every day. If an octopus learning to communicate with humans was considered an average day here, why couldn’t the existence of a merman be possible? 

 

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The next week at work, everything was chaos. An expedition crew had made a discovery a few weeks ago and the aquarium was trying to keep it under wraps before the unveiling and the press wanted to get a picture of this new discovery to release to the public to increase their magazine sales. Even as a staff member, you were not privy to the details of their discovery aside from the knowledge that the director of the aquarium had immediately demanded a few of the larger tanks be emptied and the creatures they housed to be rehomed to make room for the new discovery. You had tried to catch glimpse of it but aside from helping to clean up the mess left by the scientists after their tests, you hadn’t seen much due to the large sheets placed over the aquarium. 

New security perimeters were created to keep the general public back from the exhibit space as well as new security sensors installed to let security know if a rare fish or cephalopod had fallen out of the tank. Some of the tanks didn’t reach the ceiling so it was possible for some of the creatures to get too excited near the top of the tanks and accidentally splash their way out onto the floor. 

Today, however, you were asked to help clean up alone since the other staff were feeling overworked from keeping the press at bay. This time when you had entered the back hall, the sheet was pooled on the floor in front of the glass. From what you could tell, the tank was empty, granted it was an enormous tank meant to hold large sea animals so there were depths that even you couldn’t see that extended well below into the basement levels of the aquarium. You stared into the tank trying to see around the man-made rock formations provided for the sea animals to hide in to see if the new discovery was simply resting inside but you could see nothing. 

 

You sighed and turned to start your work cleaning the huge puddles water from the floor and collecting the broken test tubes and beakers. You had just finished sweeping up the broken glass and was adding soap to your bucket to mop the salt water off the floors when you heard a splash from the tank behind you. You whipped around to see the last thing you had expected. Bright red hair, a pale torso, and dark green tail, it was the merman from the shipwreck. 

As your brain tried to process what you were seeing, the merman swam up to the top of the tank before letting out an awful noise. You grimaced and covered your ears as his terrible noises made your ears ring. After a moment, the noise stopped and you uncovered your ears and forced yourself to look up at him. He was propped up on his arms at the top of the tank, looking at you. He looked tired but it’s not like you had seen him except for the one time in the captain’s quarters. He considered you for a moment before opening his mouth again to reveal sharp pointed teeth.

“Wait! Please don’t make that noise again! It hurts my ears!” You yelled, covering your ears and hoping this merman could understand you. After a few seconds of silence, you looked up and saw the man staring at you. “...Can you understand me?” you asked incredulously. 

“Obviously.” Your eyes widened in shock at his reply. “You humans think you are the only ones who can speak.” 

“I didn’t know you could talk. I mean, I didn’t think mermaids were real. Doesn’t it hurt you to be out of the water like that?” Your brain was racing a mile a minute trying to process everything, was this really the same mermaid you saw a few months ago?

“Of course, we are real, where do you think the legends came from? As long as my tail is submerged every now and then, I will be alright.” He said rolling his eyes. 

“Are you the same mermaid from the-” you started.

“From when you trespassed in my living quarters and tried to throw my belongings at me? Yes, you were quite rude that day.” He said, splashing his tail in the water behind him. “How would you like it if I came into your dwelling and threw your property around before running away? I also saw you getting dragged along by a shark and saved your life without so much as a thank you..”

“ About that first time, I’m sorry, you frightened me! How was I supposed to know you lived in the remains of that ship?!” you tried to defend yourself but all it got you was a laugh from the merman. 

“You knowingly came into my den. Did the lack of fish in the area not alert you to my presence? It was clearly marked as mine.” He said adjusting his perch against the edge of the glass, now leaning further out of the tank. “You ignored all the signs and were surprised to see me in my own den. Typical of a human. I should have expected nothing less.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you took offense to his dismissive tone. It’s not like you knew you were wandering into his house. 

“It means humans really believe they are the only intelligent beings in existence. Clearly, they are not. It explains how you failed to notice the warning signs. Everyone knows if there is an absence of fish in an area, it points to there being a much larger predator picking them off.” He flicked his tail again and you found yourself staring at it in awe. The deep green color looked iridescent in the light, you had never seen anything like it. “Has anyone ever told you that it is rude to stare?” He scoffed. 

“I’m sorry, it’s just that, I’ve only heard legends of mermaids. Aren’t you supposed to live in a cave? Why do you live in a shipwreck? You aren’t actually supposed to be real. Your tail is just...I can’t believe it's real…” You trailed off still entranced by his tail. You’d seen it up close when he saved you from the shark and when you’d cut him loose from some fishing nets but seeing it like this when you hadn’t just narrowly escaped death was different.

“Of course, the legends are real. Just because humans decided to stop believing doesn’t mean we stopped existing. You’d be surprised with what you humans have forgotten exists. Only a few of you remember us and you build places like this to imprison us for your entertainment until we die.” He dropped back deeper into the tank before resurfacing without taking his eyes off of you.

You weren’t sure what to say to that. You didn’t think of the rare sea fish and creatures here as imprisoned. Sure the enormous tanks weren’t the same size as the ocean but most of them were spanned the height and length of the building. “You aren’t imprisoned here, this is a discovery center. The expedition teams only want to learn about new life forms in the depths of the ocean…” You trailed off as the merman gestured to the dark band encircling his neck. 

“If I am not a prisoner then why is this around my neck?” he said leaning even further over the glass so that now he was practically pulling himself out of the tank. That’s when you noticed that he had a collar around his neck, it looked like one that dog trainers used to shock dogs when they were too lazy to train them properly. But this one looked like the scientists had crudely put this one together. 

As you stared at the collar around his neck, you recalled how the staff had been holding off the press all day to keep them from the new exhibit. Was he really the new exhibit they planned to display in a few weeks? You looked at the broken test tubes that you had swept into the dustpan then at the merman’s arms. You could scratches and bandages where they had presumably taken blood samples from him. You knew they could be a little rough when trying to take samples from a specimen but from the scratches on his arms, you knew that they had to have brutalized him to cause such damage. You realized you were staring when the merman cleared his throat. You met his eyes and he gestured to your own arm.

“Oh yeah, I guess I should thank you for saving me from the sharks that time. I don’t know what I would have done without you so thank you for saving me.” 

“If you hadn’t avoided all the warning signs, you wouldn’t have need saving.” He stated with another flick of his tail. 

“Hey! I did help free you the from those fishermen’s nets that time! You should be thanking me too!” You shot back in a huff. “How did you end up tangled in those anyway?” The merman looked away from you.

“One of my friends was caught in your trap. I had to get him out before you came to collect your traps. That and it’s easier to get fish from the nets than it is for me to catch them myself.” 

“You risked getting caught by fisherman to get some free fish?” you said incredulously. “I thought by being a mermaid, fish would just listen to you, why risk being so close to humans?” 

“Just because I am one of the merpeople doesn’t mean we can control the fish around us. Besides, would you want to force fish to swim to you so you can eat them?” You had to give him that, using your mind to tell fish to come to you so you could kill and eat them didn’t seem like the most fun. “Anyway, the fish were an afterthought. But once I was tangled, I found it challenging to escape until you came along.” 

“Yeah, you weren’t exactly calm when I was trying to help you.” You said as you adjusted your grip on the mop in your hand. 

“I was more worried about being found in the net by the fishermen than I was hurting your feelings.” He huffed and eyed you from the tank. “It seems I shouldn’t have put in much effort to escape since I was caught by your friends anyway. Tell me, did you purposefully send them to capture me or was it a lack of critical thinking that sent them my way?” 

Your mouth dropped open in shock, how dare he accuse you of aiding the research team find him. “I didn’t send the research team to you! They were headed to a cave near the shipwreck anyway and I couldn’t just tell them not to go without giving them a reason. It would have been more suspicious if I had!” You felt your annoyance growing as the merman’s eyebrow quirked.

“They were the ones who ransacked the cave? Interesting.” you watched his face as he seemed to ponder this information before speaking again. “Since it seems my capture was not entirely your fault-” you opened your mouth to protest as he gave you a look “I apologize for accusing you. But I can’t stay here in this prison and have these scientists run tests on me. They’ve already taken enough blood from me and I don’t care to be poked and prodded more than I already have.” You nodded in agreement.

“What do they want with you? I don’t think they’ve ever found anything like you before so they probably want to keep you for more tests and experiments. Security has increased but I had no idea that it was because you were being kept here.” 

“Well, then I need to find a way out as quietly as possible. I’ve already started making a plan but I need your help...will you help me?” 

You nodded. “You saved my life before. Tell me what I need to do.”


	6. Chapter 6

“That will never work! We need a different plan!” you sighed as you sat on the floor next to the merman’s tank. “I was almost caught last week, you can’t expect to just walk out of the front door. That one security guard is still wary of me, he’ll be watching me for a while.”

“You wouldn’t have been caught last time if you had taken your scientist friend’s access card. Without this becomes more difficult.” The merman flicked his tail in annoyance.

A little over a week ago, the merman had told you his plan to break out of the aquarium and it had gone terribly. His plan had involved you taking a cart from one of the labs and hiding him underneath it while covered by a sheet out of the back door and into your car after closing. But you hadn’t anticipated on all of the labs being locked down due to the scientists testing the new samples taken from the merman. You had been caught by a security guard and in a panic had said you had an appointment with Luke to discuss the research team’s findings. The security guard hadn’t believed you but when he called Luke, Luke had gladly played along and verified your meeting with the guard. Luke came to collect you and spent the following hour showing you new things they had found in the cave before questioning your intentions. You were sure you had fooled him with harmless flirting to convince him you were honestly just coming down to visit him. But in your opinion, it was still risky and too soon to try again. 

“If I had taken Luke’s access card, he just would have noticed and gotten security to revoke access to it and make him a new one before we could use it.” you sighed, “We need a way to get you out of here that won’t cause a scene and keeps them from knowing it was me that helped you. I’m out of ideas, it’s been days and I have nothing. ” 

The merman nodded before sinking down in the tank. You watched as he let his body sink in the tank. Even when he wasn’t actively swimming, his body seemed so graceful in the water. You watched until he sank below your level and down to the next out of your view. He’d been here for three weeks before you’d found out he was here, if you included the past two weeks of trying to get him out, he’d been here for over a month. Stuck in this tank that while big enough to house sharks comfortably, must have seemed claustrophobic to him compared to the ocean. He had told you that he usually swam miles a day and could swim up the coast in a matter of hours and the limited room of the tank kept him feeling cramped in the space. 

You wondered how much he missed the open sea but he kept his feelings to himself and barely showed you any emotions aside from his eagerness to escape. You wanted to help him but it was a difficult task. You had to sneak him out while keeping his tail hydrated. It’s not like you could load him into a wheelbarrow filled with water and wheel him out the front door. You let your mind wander as you stood and began to clean the room, you clearly weren’t coming up with any ideas tonight and it seemed the merman wasn’t either. 

Just as you were packing up the mop and trash you had picked up, a splash from the tank caught your attention. You looked up to see the merman staring at you intently. You furrowed your brow as he opened his mouth to speak. 

“I’ve just realized, this whole time, I’ve trusted you with getting me out of here and I do not even know your name.” 

“My name? Its Y/N.” you hesitated, you wanted to ask what his name was but with how closed off he tended to be would he tell you? “What’s your name?”

“It’s Armitage. Armitage Hux but you can call me Hux.” You wondered why he would want to be called by his last name but didn’t voice your thoughts since you were glad to learn more about him. “Now, Y/N, I think I have a sure fire way to get myself out of here but I need you to help me without question.” 

Without question? That was a weird way to for him to word it. What was he going to ask you to do? The merman must have sensed your hesitation because he spoke again. 

“I won’t ask you to kill anyone. There just may be the risk to your job and possibly your sanity but nothing permanent.” He said with a chuckle. “That last part was a joke,” he added when he saw your uneasy expression. “So will you help me?”

“What’s the plan?”

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It was cold. That’s all you felt. You shivered inside your wetsuit as you dove deeper into the ocean’s depths. You could barely see in front of you aside from the beams of light from your mounted headlight and flashlight. You were starting to get paranoid as the mouth of a cave came into view. 

_“Listen carefully, I need you to trust me. No harm will come to you if you do as I say. Do you understand?” you nodded as Hux continued, “Good. Do you have a map?” You shook your head before remembering the map app on your phone. You opened it and handed your phone to him, surprised he knew how to use it and was able to with his pointy almost claw-like hands._

_“It should be obvious that I am not the only one of my kind at this point. There are even creatures that are more frightful than I. I need you to go to the ship and gather these items if your scientists haven’t taken them already. Then you will go to this location in your boat and dive to a cave here.” You looked at the spot he marked on the map, there was no land and it was well past the ocean shelf drop off._

_“But there is no land there? How can there be a cave? I don’t have the equipment to make a dive that deep. The pressure alone could kill me if the nitrogen narcosis doesn’t drive me insane first!”_

_“The items you get from my ship will help you. You can’t bring them here for me to help you with because we will likely get caught but I can tell you to how to use them to help your human body make the dive. Moving on-” you huffed, you weren’t convinced but motioned for him to continue anyway, “I must warn you, the cave is inhabited by a sea witch.”_

_“A sea witch?!” you shot to your feet as your mind began to race. You weren’t even sure if you liked the idea of human witches being real. The movies always depicted witches casting curses on people and the last place you needed to be cursed was in the ocean with a limited oxygen supply._

_“Yes, a sea witch. Now, if you would let me finish.” You nodded and sat back down. “ You will need to trade with him the items from my ship for a ring.”_

_“What kind of ring? Like one with diamonds and gems?” The merman sighed._

_“No, not with diamonds. But the ring he gives you should have gems on it.”_

_“How will I know it’s the right ring?” you questioned, not wanting to risk your life only to bring back to the wrong jewelry._

_“You’ve seen the ring’s matching bracelet before in the ship. If I remember correctly, I swam in on you taking photographs of it the first time I caught you in my quarters.”_

_Your mind went to that day and the pictures you took. You remembered the box of trinkets and the gemstone bracelet. So the ring would match the bracelet, simple but covered in an obnoxious amount of gems. You laughed to yourself at the thought of the merman wearing such an ostentatious bracelet. But then you remembered the sunglasses and shot glass in the box as well._

_“I remember the bracelet, it was in the box on your desk. But why did you have a shot glass and sunglasses in the box too? How did you get them? What do you need them for?” The merman waved off your questions._

_“If I make it out of here, I’ll show you what they are for.” You were okay with that. It’s not like you had expected a real answer anyway. “Back to the sea witch, when you are trading for the ring, you must be sure to only trade him the items on the list. He will already know that I am in trouble when you ask for the ring. He will try to use that as leverage to trick you into giving him more than what is necessary to trade for the ring. You must not let him manipulate you. Do you understand me?”_

_You wondered why the witch would want to trick you since you were human and all but useless underwater but you told the merman you would not be manipulated._

_“Good. The witch’s name is Kylo Ren. Once you have the ring we can go from there. It’s getting late, you should get home and rest. I know it is the weekend and you have the next two days off. You should rest tonight, collect the items from the ship in the morning and make the dive tomorrow to the cave at noon when the sun is at its highest. Then rest the following day before bringing the ring to me.”_

_“Why do I have to make the dive at noon?” you questioned. You preferred to dive early in the morning before the other boats were out on the water and the water was quiet and calm._

_“You need to go when the sun is at its highest and brightest in case you get lost and can’t find the surface. Many divers have died because they could not find their way back to the surface and the pressure of the water destroyed the jackets they use to pull them to the surface. If I don’t see you on Monday, then I’ll know you were not able to find your way back to the surface.”_

You cursed at the memory and how you had found yourself to be swimming this deep into the ocean. You had gone to the shipwreck and gathered the items on Hux’s list without a problem. The research team hadn’t found much use for the crates of coins in which Hux’s items were buried so they’d left them virtually untouched. Among items Hux had wanted were specific rings covered in gems from the crates as well as a few shark and orca teeth. You weren’t sure of the significance of these items but you had packed them and brought them with you. When you were this deep in the ocean, it felt as if each small ring was weighing you down like a rock. 

You pulled out the small diving map you had brought with you and attempted to check your location. You were so far down that the gases in your scuba tanks were causing you to feel light headed and weakened your dexterity. You had spent so much time trying to adjust the tanks to get the mix of gases just right to avoid nitrogen narcosis but you could feel the effects starting to show. It was only a matter of time before you either found the cave and the witch or you started hallucinating and died from the narcosis. 

You thought back to what Hux had told you about the items to help you survive in the depths. He had written on the list for you to take a paste from his quarters to rub on your neck. He claimed it would help with your breathing and reduce the nitrogen and helium building in your body. You had tried it at the ship but hadn’t felt any different after applying it. You thought about reapplying it now that you were now at least 300 feet below and could feel the pressure much stronger but you were too afraid to stop with the looming darkness below you. Instead, you thought of the other item Hux had told you to use, a ring covered in blue sapphires. He said it would allow you to see in the dark but you were afraid to use it as well. You saw what kinds of creatures the research team pulled from these depths and you were afraid that you would be able to see them lurking below you, waiting for you to go crazy so they could rip you to pieces and eat you. 

Instead, you kept swimming deeper down towards a rock formation Hux had noted on the map. As you got closer, your flashlights seemed to get dimmer, as if the beams of light could no longer penetrate through the darkness around the rocks. You could feel the paranoia growing inside you as it became harder to see the way in front of you. You looked up and could barely see the sunlight filtering down through the water. While you could see the sunlight, even it did not reach far enough to illuminate the water this far down. 

With a sigh, you checked the map again before securing it in your waist belt and swimming deeper into the darkness. You stopped once you were at the rock formation. It was covered in strange markings that you couldn’t decipher. You wondered who made the markings and why. You looked below you and saw an opening in the rock formation that led into a dark cave. You swam down to the entrance and paused. 

On one hand, this was part of the plan Hux had made. On the other hand, you were just a human and Hux was a mermaid who said a sea witch lived in this cave. You joked internally that you had hallucinated everything, Hux and the sea witch. For all you knew, you were dreaming and still at the shipwreck for the first time while the nitrogen narcosis set in and slowly drove you toward insanity. 

You felt the anxiety starting to fill your body with dread so you decided to try to apply the paste Hux had you make. You took it from your waist belt and pulled the neck of your wetsuit away before rubbing some of the paste onto your neck. Immediately, you felt the effects, your breath came easier and you could feel your body relaxing as you breathe easier. Your body was less tense and you could feel the dexterity in your limbs coming back with each breath you took. If the paste actually worked, maybe the ring would too. You fished it out of your waist belt while putting the paste away. You stared at it in your palm, turning it over before slipping it onto your finger. Almost instantly the darkness around you lit up. It was as if there were lights all around you and you could see further down into the sea than you ever could before. It was almost as if it was daylight underwater. You took a moment and looked over the rock formation edge below you. 

You could see all of the strange fish swimming along below you. You were certain that the few lantern fish you could see were just as unnerved by your presence as you were. This was amazing, you never knew such things could exist to help you explore the ocean, you’d have to talk to Hux about borrowing these once he was free. You took a breath and turned back towards the cave. Unlike the rest of the ocean that was now illuminated, the cave was still dark. Maybe the cave was unaffected by the ring’s power because of the sea witch inside it? You were unsure but started to swim into the cave. 

The darkness was unnerving. Thanks to the paste, you could breathe just fine now with very little to no symptoms of the nitrogen narcosis but it did not do anything to quell the anxiety the darkness was causing you to feel. The beams of your flashlight were almost useless, only lighting the way in front of you by a few feet. You began to wonder if you were swimming into the right cave or if you were swimming to your death in an empty cavern when you started to see small lights on the floor of the cave. You swam down closer to the bottom of the cave for a closer look and realized they weren’t lights at all but in fact small bioluminescent coral. You paused as you recalled the only previous bioluminescent corals to be found were only in the Red Sea. What were these corals doing here? You looked around and saw that the corals formed a path that led you deeper into the cave before they started to grow along the sides and ceiling of the cave. 

You followed this coral “path” further before you noticed the water was getting warmer. You were so deep in the ocean that you knew the water should not be warm unless you ran into an underground current. As you pondered this, you saw something move from the corner of your eye. The anxiety in you flared again as you slowly turned to see what had caught your attention.

You turned to see a dark inky mass coming towards you surrounded by the coral covered cave walls. You watched as the dark mass took shape in your eyes and you realized it was an octopus. You were shocked as you watch the octopus stop a few yards from you and uncurled itself to reveal the torso of a man. He wasn’t as pale as Hux, he was more tanned and had a scar on his left eye. What shocked you the most was instead of two legs, he had eight. Well, eight tentacles for legs. Even though you had seen Hux’s tail up close and knew that other creatures had to exist but you hadn’t expected to find the sea witch like this. 

You watched frozen in place as the sea witch straightened to an impossibly large size in front of you. He cocked his head to the side and examined you from head to toe. As he looked you over, you cursed internally at your lack of preparation. His tentacles swished back and forth in the water as he considered you from across the cave. You knew you had to speak to the sea witch but you hadn’t thought about what you’d actually say to him. Luckily, or unluckily for you, the sea witch spoke first.

“Who are you? Humans are rare this far down. Most of your kind go mad before they can make it this far.” You wanted to answer him but if you took off your mask to try and speak, you would lose oxygen. Besides, your words would most likely come out as bubbles and a dull roar anyway. Instead, you made wild gestures at which he ignored. His eyes fixated on the neck of your wetsuit where you had messily applied the paste. “A friend of the merpeople? Only they know how to create that paste to helps humans breathe.” 

You nodded unsure of how to communicate with him until he spoke again. “That paste will grant you the ability to breathe without your human air mask. Take it off and you will be fine.” your brow furrowed as you considered what he said. With some hesitation, you reached for the clasp of your oxygen mask and slowly pulled it off. Surprisingly, you didn’t feel the water rush into your lungs at all. Instead, it felt as if you were breathing the same as you did on dry land. You took a moment to adjust to the feeling with a few deep breaths, Hux’s paste had worked better than you thought. You couldn’t believe that you could actually breathe underwater. These thoughts were interrupted by the witch speaking again. 

“Now that that hideous mask is out of the way, answer my question. Who are you?”

“My name is Y/N. Are you Kylo Ren?” You replied as you straightened yourself.

“I am but Y/N, tell me, how did you a mere human, find yourself here in my cave with a paste from the merpeople?” He said glancing at your neck again.

“I am a friend of Armitage Hux. He sent me here to trade with you.” you pulled the bag containing the items Hux had listed from your waist belt to present to the sea witch. The witch glanced at the bag in your hand with disinterest.

“What would Hux possibly want to trade with me for? The last time we traded he was sure he wouldn’t need anything from me again.” He said raising an eyebrow. 

“Hux wants to trade you these for a ring-” 

“I have traded many rings to Hux each has its own purpose. He has everything he needs from me. I have nothing left to offer him and he has nothing of value to me. ...Unless he sent you to me as something to trade.” The witch swam closer to you and you felt your body tense as he neared. 

“No, this ring is special, he said it matches the bracelet he already has. Do you know it?” At that, the witch turned his head in thought before looking back at you. 

“What has Hux gotten himself into that he would need that ring? Surely, he has no use for it since he has the bracelet. It makes it even more foolish to send a human here after it. Unless... “ he trailed off before turning back to you and laughing. “Has Hux got himself captured by humans? Is that why he sent you? A human to retrieve it?” As he laughed, you noticed his teeth, they were sharper than Hux’s seemed. The perfect size and length that could tear into your flesh and eat you without a problem. You wanted out of this cave as soon as possible.

“Will you trade with me or not?” You asked feeling a little impatient. The witch’s expression changed as he considered you again.

“What will you give me for it? Hux would not send you empty-handed for the ring.” You handed him the bag with items and watched as he dumped them into his hands. He picked through the items before scoffing. “These are good but not enough for the ring.” 

“That’s all I have to trade with.” You said with an uneasy feeling. Hux had said the witch would try to leverage you into giving up something else to help him. You had a feeling he was about to try to convince you to give up something valuable.

“How about we make a deal?” His tentacles seemed to sway with new energy as he mentioned making a deal with you. 

“What kind of deal?” You said trying to keep the trepidation from your voice.

“Since what Hux has provided here is almost enough, why don’t you agree to do me a favor. I don’t know when, but someday I will require help from a human. If you agree to help me when I call on you without hesitation and with no questions asked, I will give you the ring to help Hux.” 

You mulled the offer over in your head. Owe a sea witch a favor? What would he make you do? Would he make you hurt someone? Was it worth agreeing to if you didn’t know what he could ask you to do? Kylo Ren must have sensed your internal struggle because when he spoke again, it was to reassure you. 

“You would not have to harm anyone if that is what you are worried about. I do not deal in that kind of magic.” 

You looked him in the eyes and tried to find any trace of dishonesty but you were only met with his impassive stare. With a sigh, you realized this was your best option for saving Hux. 

“I will make the trade with you.” You watched as Kylo Ren’s face turned up in a smug grin.

“I’m glad to hear it.” With a wave of his hand, the ring appeared in his hand and you reached out to take it when he pulled his hand away. “Ah, ah, ah, you forget Y/N, we have to seal the deal first.” 

Your brows furrowed, seal the deal? Was agreeing to the deal, not enough? 

“We witches seal all of our deals with a kiss.” That was all the witch said before you felt one of his tentacles slide up your back and push your mouth closer to his. A second later, his mouth was on yours and you felt an electric shock go through your body. Within the next second, you were back on the ground confused as to what just occurred. It was only when you felt Kylo Ren pushing the ring into your hand did you realize he had kissed you. 

“Don’t worry about the electric jolt you felt. A witch’s kiss can have the intensity of a moray eel. It’s how I know you’ll honor your end of the deal when the time comes. Remember, you owe me whether you are able to save Hux or not. I’ll see you again soon Y/N.” and with that, he began to drift off back into the darkness of the cave the way he came.


End file.
